Flowers and Ferns
by phiree
Summary: When I wrote this, I was just crying everywhere. I'm not sure if I'm even done with this story yet or not.


Toothiana felt a change in the air as she put the second tooth in another child's memory. The entire Tooth Palace seemed to freeze in its place and then suddenly shiver. And the next moment, the sensation was gone.  
Her lips pulled back into a knowing smile. "Why, hello Jack!"  
In the corner of her eye, she caught the glimpse of a sparkly snowball racing toward her. But she couldn't dodge it in time. Squealing, she leaped into the air and nearly dropped the precious tooth box she was holding.  
Jack landed, tumbling off the back of the wind and laughing. Tooth grinned playfully and whistled to gather all her little fairies to her side. "Get him, girls!"  
The horde of fairies tackled him and held him down as he protested with yells and more laughter. Tooth hovered above him with her arms crossed.  
"I surrender!" Two arms shot up into the air through the mass of mini-fairies.  
"Why have you invaded my realm, Sir Frost?" she said in an unrelenting, mock-serious tone.  
"I've come to see the lovely Queen Toothiana, of course!" He assured her.  
"Good answer. All right, girls, you can get off now."  
The fairies stirred and moved away with their musical giggling and batting eyelashes. Jack sat up and smiled at Tooth, leaning on his staff.  
She inched closer. "So, whats the real reason?"  
Jack blinked, "Well, I was wondering if you could do me a little favor…"  
"Uh-huh." She crossed her arms again smugly. "Get on with it. What do you want?"  
"Maybe a look at my memories again?" His eyes went from mischievous to almost pleading when he got the courage to look her in the eyes.  
Surprised, Tooth backed away a little and softened her voice, "Of course, Jack. Here, come along." She offered him her hand and lifted him up to the shelf where she knew his teeth would be. His past life teeth. She had looked at them once before, and she knew where she had left them.  
Jack looked at her gratefully as she handed him the gilded box.  
She cleared her throat gently. "Well, I've got some—uh—things to do around the Palace, so I'll just leave you here."  
He nodded and didn't open the box until she was gone and he was alone. He lifted the cover and stared for a minute at the two rows of pearly white teeth , afraid to touch them. But curiosity got the best of him, and he picked up the first tooth. Flashback to the Lake. He put it down quickly, and picked up another, farther down the row.

_A fuzzy image of a girl solidified in his mind. Reddish-blonde hair. Amber colored eyes. The lake in the summer. They were sitting on the shore. He nudged her with his shoulder, and they both laughed a little as if there was some kind of joke between them. She was wearing a creamy silk blouse, a taupe-colored skirt, stockings, and brown boots._  
_"This is for you." He handed her a bouquet of flowers and fern._  
_"Jack!" Her eyes widened with astonishment. Then she looked back up and squinted suspiciously at him. "Did you take these from Lady Anderson's garden?"_  
_"What?" Jack tried to look innocent. "Me?"_  
_Then he saw her with the firelight flickering on her face at the Autumn Dance. The moon was full, it was chilly. He grabbed her hand before anyone else could ask her. She looked at him questioningly, and he covered up his blush by grinning wide and winking at her._  
_Flowers and ferns on her porch on the first of spring. A puppet show in the barn with all the kids in the town. She was sitting next to his sister, laughing at his jokes. Yet, at the same time, she was staring straight through him. She gave him shivers. A sunset in the walnut tree grove. He touched her cheek. He lay awake thinking about her._  
_Rachel. Flowers and ferns._

He put the tooth back in its place and contemplated the memories. He felt a familiar color floating up to his cheeks. The feelings were so old.  
"I wonder what's happened to that girl…" mused Jack. His eyes wandered to the shelf.  
He knew it was there. He saw it immediately. It was almost too easy. He should have checked himself, but he reached for the box with no hesitation.

_It was getting dark and Rachel was washing the plates for supper. There was a clay vase on the table with his flowers and ferns in it. Her father was smoking in front of the fire. Mother was out getting extra clothes from the neighbors._  
_She began to hear the sound of feet scampering in the snow, and saw her younger brother's shadow a few moments before she saw his face. The window was a little fogged up, so she tried to wipe it a little with her dress sleeve._  
_He was standing under the window with the strangest look on his face. She couldn't make sense of it. He stared at her blankly. Then went around quickly to the front of the house._  
_"Pa? Pa?" She heard his voice. It sounded hollow. They spoke briefly for a little. They were mumbling. Father got up and grabbed his coat, calling for her._  
_"What is it?" She stood in the kitchen doorway._  
_"The Pines. We need to go there now. Mother's there. Thomas, hitch up the sleigh."_  
_It was snowing._  
_There was a crowd of men standing on the edge of the lake. Lady Pine had frozen tears shimmering on her cheek._  
_They were there for hours. But when the moon came up, everyone had gone home. Her family had left with the Pines. She had asked to stay._  
_The moon was huge. It's beams of light were more than just light to her. Jack once told her that an old man lived in the Moon._  
_She lifted her face. "If you're real. Don't let him be dead. If there was anyone I ever loved, it was…"_

Jack dropped the teeth and covered his ears before he could hear the name. He stood still, refusing to breathe or move until the wave of emotions had passed. He was shaky. But after a few minutes, he succeeded in forgetting most of it.  
"But next time, I will remember not to do this again." He rapidly swept up the fallen teeth with his staff and put them back into the box.


End file.
